Part of me feels like you’re not doing your duty as a cyclone fan if you know these hard facts and aren’t telling TJ about them. Do you even want us to win?
Stop underutilizing Ward
- Thread starter ZRF
- Start date
Have you ever considered the possibility that Hason is playing so well because he's kept fresh by Tj's plan of rotating bigs?
I coach a 5th grade kids rec league team and if I had Ward on my team, he’d play the whole game. So I agree with you completely. I’ve about had it with Logan dribbling the ball off his foot every time and complaining that no one will pass it to him.
You are correct here. When looking at the game logs I think I pulled the 14 from Houston into an adjacent game.
Eighteen is the correct number (and avg for conference games where fouls weren't a major limiting factor) but that's still not enough, though I really didn't have a problem with the BYU usage in the 2nd half as the entire team just didn't have it. Some games you throw in the trash, play your bench (Pavs, Omaha, Demarion etc) and live to play another day.
It's not all in a vacuum though.. Watson has started to play more because he's playing better in games. Pav has started to play less because he's a huge liability defensively and because C. Jones has shown that's his spot. A lot of these guys are playing their first season of basketball together and it can take a long time for things to click into place, which you're seeing at this very minute. Pav will not play much the rest of the year unless we're in a huge pinch, where he'll only be in a couple of minutes.
Absolutely. But if we played Milan 20 minutes, and he was more effective (on a per minute basis) in those said 20 minutes, does that mean we are better off only playing him 20? Or Lipsey?
My point is we haven't played that card to even know. You are making an assumption about Ward whereas I am not. I'm saying he's wildly effective when he's on the floor and there is not much other than fouls (which again is a factor) that indicates he can't be effective playing 25 - 30 minutes a game. I've also never discounted the possibility that it MIGHT not work.
The problem I have with a lot of the responses is that they are lazy and purely anecdotal in nature. How can do what Hasan can or cannot do (in terms of minutes) if we don't let him show us on the court? To that question nobody has really given a great answer.
It's my opinion/theory from the couch that Pav played so much early to give him that experience in case he's needed at some point, which is absolutely possible.
Probably because most people are like me and don't want to invest time in reading your long posts. I get you think Ward is one of our best players and should play more minutes. There are any number of reasons he's not playing more minutes, but the fact is no one here knows why TJ makes the decisions he does with Wards minutes. He and the coaching staff are the only ones who can answer that. We can sit here and guess and argue all day what TJ's reasoning is, but the only thing you seem to be willing to accept is that TJ doesn't know what he's doing with Wards minutes and he should be playing more. It's a complete waste of time to argue with you about it.
I have and conceded as much.
It's posters like yourself that can't admit that I actually bring some compelling evidence to the table. You are ASSUMING Ward can't play extended minutes and being anecdotal (he's effective because his minutes are managed) with your reasoning. Conversely I'm saying TJ needs to let Ward prove, one way or another that he can handle it or not. Also, in terms of fouls, players can't learn to manage their play (aggressiveness....learning good fouls from bad) if they aren't given that opportunity.
Big difference in approach. As usual your responses are lazy and lack substance.
I just don't know that I agree with this. I was critical of TJ's substitutions in the nonconference. My opinion was that if you are up 30-40 points, then Pav, Watson and Omaha need to be on the floor. I'm talking with like 10 minutes left, not 2. We needed those guys to adjust to the level of play (Pav, Omaha) and for Watson to work through his offensive issues. But now? In the heart of conference play? I really don't have a bunch of complaints. We have an awesome rotation right now. BRE can play hard and if he gets a foul, Ward comes in. If Ward gets a foul, BRE comes back. Allows them both to play at full energy and although they are different players, they both have skillsets that can contribute to success. Tre King is a load in the post up game and can still hit a 3 from the PF spot. And we have two SF's that can rotate in at the 4 if needed for offense (Momcilivic) and defense (Watson). Just so much versatility on the roster...we can go big or small to matchup on defense or cause matchup problems on offense. I guess my only complaint is that I'd probably try to find a way to get Omaha a few minutes a game, but that would be more for next year than for this year. Now, if we have an injury or two, we could be in trouble because I don't know that Pav or Omaha are ready for this level. But, man, the players we have right now are doing really, really well. I wouldn't mess with it.
You keep bringing up the "quality" of everyone's posts. Who are you to judge "quality"?
You are ASSUMING you know why TJ makes the decisions he does without any actual evidence put forward that you actually know why TJ and staff make their decisions.
Fact or no?
It's like arguing with a weed wacker.
Edit: and stop attacking my responses before I start a thread complaining about it while providing more ammo for others to point out my obssessive takes over a decent basketball team that may or may not win a game or two in the NCAA tournament.
Because we're not even one month removed from him coming back from a foot injury and he has been getting eased into games, plus we're winning with this formula. Ward will continue to play more as time goes on. We also haven't mentioned that we've also gone lineups where Tre has been the 5 and Watson has come in as the 4. So there's another thing we haven't even considered - matchups. That also takes away Ward and even Bob's minutes.
Watson has always been raw and has (offensive) limitations. Sometimes I think it's obvious when some guys just don't have the size/talent to compete against top level competition. The minute Pavs took the floor I thought it was obvious. He can hold his own against the Idaho State's but the Big 12? It was only reaffirmed once we hit conference play.
Watson has the size, athleticism, length, and motor to at LEAST be valuable as a defensive rotational player (which he also showed last year). I just think Otz made a huge mistake by not playing Watson 20ish minutes a game and getting him to manage fouls (like Ward its been a problem) and take some open shots/drive to the rim. No better time to get a player, one who can factor into your rotation, minutes than against the scrubs in our non-con. I felt it was an opportunity missed.
